Barber Shop
by Kateko
Summary: Sora gets scissors for Christmas. 'Nuff said.


**A/N: **Now, don't get me wrong- Sora and Riku are so perfect for each other that it's practically canon. But...the way they interact as just friends is _so _adorable that I just had to write a fic about that.

I'm not entirely happy with how this fic turned out, I confess. There are parts that seem rushed to me, or parts that seem to drag on too long. But my friends all seem to think I'm being overcritical...

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"Hey, Riku..." Sora said suddenly, as if a thought had just struck him.  
"Yeah?"  
Sora grinned. "D'you have to blow-dry your hair when you get out of the shower?"

Riku gave Sora an odd look. "Yes..." Sora started laughing. "What?"

"Like a girl!" Sora giggled. "Do you have a hair straightener, like Kairi? Or..." he was laughing almost too hard to talk, clearly very amused by his own comments. "...or product and stuff? To give it _sheen?_"

Riku glared at Sora. "Drying your hair is _not _girly. You have to blow-dry long hair. What do _you _do?"

"I just sleep with wet hair," Sora shrugged. "I guess you can't stand getting your pretty pink pillowcase wet?" he taunted.

Riku rolled his eyes. "If I slept with wet hair, I would have the world's messiest hair every day. You don't have a bedhead problem?"

Sora raised an eyebrow and glanced up at the chaotic mess of spikes that his hair grew into.

Riku sighed. "Of _course _you don't. You have natural bedhead anyway."

Sora grinned, taunting Riku. "at least I don't have long, shiny princess hair!"

Riku feigned shocked offense, then laughed. "Oh, are you saying I'm too _girly_?" he challenged.

"Maybe I am!"

"Alright, stand up, you shrimp. I'm a head taller than any girl on this sland. And _you_?"

Sora pouted. "I'm a lot taller than Selphie," he sulked. Then his eyes gave off a mischeivous glint and he grabbed a pillow. "Besides, my small_ish_ size gives me _catlike reflexes!_" he shouted, flying towards his friend with the pillow.  
Riku grabbed the pillow mid-swing, stopping Sora in his tracks. "Yeah, a dead cat, maybe." he teased.

Sora lashed out with his other hand, also weilding a pillow. Riku laughed, and an all-out pillow war began. Feathers flew, and shouted taunts could be heard as they battled it out with pillows.

"Too slow!"  
"Too short!"

"Hey, shut u- ow!"

"Gotcha!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Ow! Hey! That's cheating! That's a couch cushion!"

"Psht, same thing."

Finally, the two friends flopped back down on the couch they'd been sharing, panting and worn out.

"You really _do _have too long hair," Sora panted, glancing over at his friend. Riku just raised an eyebrow. "You should get a haircut."

Riku sat up straighter, looking wary.

"What?"

"I still get freaked out whenever I hear _you _say 'haircut'."

Sora pouted again. "That was a long time ago!"

Riku sighed. "_I _still remember it."

7 years earlier

"Riku! Kairi! Hey, look! Look!" Sora shouted excitedly, running up the beach to meet his friends, all carrying toys. Christmas had just passed, and the three were meeting together to show their wares.

"What'd you get for Christmas, Sora?" Kairi asked happily. "I got a new doll and a really pretty necklace! Look!" Kairi held up a very small rag doll in one hand, and with the other pointed to a charm hanging around her neck.

"I got a new book," Sora said in a slightly bored tone, "And...these!" he cheered, holding up something shiny that glinted in the sunlight. Kairi and Riku cringed from the blinding reflection before leaning forward to get a good look.

Riku laughed. "Scissors, Sora?"

Sora grinned excitedly. "Yeah! Aren't they cool?"

"You got scissors for Christmas?" Kairi asked uncertainly.

"Yeah! Well, I got a craft kit or something, with crayons and stuff. But those are boring, and these-" He once more held up the gleaming scissors. "-are _cool!_"

"Why?"  
Sora blinked in confusion, as if the question had never occurred to him. "Well, you can do all sorts of fun stuff with them," he began slowly and carefully, as if he was a teacher giving a lesson.

"Like what?" Kairi asked.

"Like this!" Sora said, kneeling down and cutting a small leaf off of a weed sprouting out of the sand. He beamed victoriously as he stood again.

Riku looked unimpressed, and Kairi seemed confused. "Is that...fun?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yep!" Sora declared. "Here, try it!" He held the scissors out to Kairi.

She took them and knelt as Sora had moments before. She cut a second leaf off of the same weed, and then a third, giggling. She stood again and handed the scissors back politely. "You're right! It is fun!"

Sora thrust the scissors towards Riku. "Want to try?"

"I'll pass," the boy replied.

Sora shrugged and lowered his arm. "Okay." Within a second he returned to his previous point, his face glowing once more. "But you see? Scissors are the funnest thing ever!"

"Not as fun as what I got," Riku replied, pulling out two objects from behind his back.

Sora stared. "Wow! What are they for?"

"They're wooden swords," Riku explained, excited. He set one down and then whacked Sora lightly on the arm with the other. "See? They're just wood, so you won't hurt anyone with them. We can pretend-fight!"

Sora let out an excited cheer and grabbed up the other sword. Scissors temporarily forgotten, the two boys attempted a mock-swordfight. Given their very limited knowledge of sparring, their 'duel' was simply whacking their swords together in the air, then whacking them together on the other side, all the while shouting challenges at each other. Kairi chose to sit on a rock and watch, but soon grew bored.

"This is really boring," she complained loudly. Receiving no response, she repeated herself. "I _said, this is really boooorriiiinnng!" _She drew out each syllable of the final word for emphasis as the two boys stopped to reply.

"Well, we can play a different game," Sora suggested.

"Like what?"

Kairi's face lit up. Suggesting games to play was, in her eyes, almost as fun as actually playing them, and her list never ended. "Well we can play house, or store, or pet shop, or castle, or cops-and-robbers, or tag, or hide-and-seek, or wizards, or-"

The list went on, and Sora had heard it before. Sora didn't like hide-and-seek (he was horrible at hiding and Riku always took the good spots), or house (he always had to be the kid, since Riku was taller), or store (Kairi always insisted on being the cashier, and he and Riku had to be customers), or pet shop (because quite frankly, whoever didn't get to be the puppy didn't have any fun). Most of the other games they played way too often. He looked around for inspiration of something that could serve as a new game, and his eyes landed on his Christmas present. "Or barber shop!" he suggested excitedly.

Kairi stopped, not expecting an interruption. She and Riku asked simultaneously, "What?"

"Barber shop! You know, the people who cut hair! We have scissors. What else do we need?"

"A chair!" Kairi said excitedly. She pointed to the rock she'd been sitting on previously.

"Perfect!" Sora exclaimed, grabbing the scissors rushing over to it. He grinned up from behind it. "They're my scissors, so _I _get to be the barber." Before anyone could object he continued, "Now who will be the customer?"

Kairi sighed, glancing at Riku meaningfully. "Well, my hair is way too pretty for _me_ to be going to the barber shop," she hinted.

Riku glared at Kairi. "What are you trying to say?"

"_Oh!_" Kairi gasped fakely, as if trying to act as though she hadn't realized the meaning of her words. "Oh, I don't mean anything against your hair, Riku! I was just saying that it would make more _sense _if you were the customer."

"Then what would you be, Kairi?" Sora asked, curious. Kairi was known to assign roles and to give herself the funnest job - but Sora couldn't think of any job in the world that was more fun than a barber!

"Well, I suppose I'd have to be your boss," she decided cheerfully.

"Wait! I don't wanna get my hair cut!" Riku objected, irritated that he had no say in it.

Kairi blinked. "Well, but my hair is-"  
"I don't want him to mess up my hair," Riku insisted. "And I bet he will, too."

Sora pouted and crossed his arms. "That's not fair, Riku! I will not! I'll cut your hair really good, I swear! It's too long anyway, it' s longer than

Kairi's!"

Kairi turned and glanced at Riku, nodding. "He's right, Riku, long hair is for girls, not boys!"

"I don't know..." Riku looked uncertain.

"It'll be really, really good! Please, Riku? Please, please, please, please, pretty please with sugar on top? Sugar and candy and cake and...waffles on top!"

"Waffles, Sora?"

"They're my favorite," he defended. "But please, Riku?"

Riku sighed. "Alright. Fine. But it has to be really really good, Sora!" he warned, taking a seat on the rock.

"Yaaay!" Sora cheered, throwing his arms in the air happily and having to grab for the scissors after he accidentally sent them flying.

Riku looked a bit wary as Kairi approached him, speaking in the bubbly tone that she seemed to feel fit every persona - mother, boss, cashier, princess, and, for some reason, police officer.

"Why, hello, sir!" she greeted cheerfully. "Are you here for an appointment?"

"Um, yes?" Riku replied unsurely.

"Your name, please."

"Riku."

Usually, this point was followed by Kairi trying her hardest to convince Riku to add his last name or make up a pretend one (with ploys such as, "Oh, well we've got more than one 'Riku' signed up. We'll need your last name." or "Riku? I don't see anyone with that name on the list.") and Riku would resist as best he could ("Well, I'll have to just schedule it now," or "Then maybe your machines don't work.") However, Kairi seemed to realize that Riku wasn't entirely sure about this, and didn't want to risk him deciding to reschedule for a later day. "Right this way." She led him to the rock that Sora was standing behind, "trimming" the low-hanging leaves on the nearby palm tree. "So what sort of hairstyle are you looking for today?"

Riku sighed. "Just a trim. _Nothing short,_" he added hastily. Sora nodded to himself and slowly, dramatically, he raised she scissors up and cut off a small piece in the back. Riku cringed at the sound, which was followed by many more of its kind. Snipping sounds filled the air as Riku waited. "How does it look?" he asked worriedly.

Kairi stood next to Sora and smiled. "It looks fine! Sora's really good! It's kind of triangle-y, though..." she said.

Sora nodded subtly. "I know, I did that on purpose!"  
"Oh! It looks cool," Kairi agreed.

"Are you sure?" Riku asked. "I don't want Sora to give me _stupid _hair."

"No, it really looks good," reassured Kairi, returning to the front.

Sora snipped happily for a few minutes, every once in a while stopping to admire his work. Finally, he set the scissors down dramatically with a loud shout of, "I'm done!" that made Riku and Kairi (who had resorted to making a leaf dress for her doll out of boredom) jump.

Riku looked around. "Does anyone have a mirror or something?" he asked, feeling the ends of his hair.

Kairi grinned. "I do!" she said, digging around in a pocket of her dress. She pulled out a small circular mirror. "My mommy gave it to me," she explained solemnly, as if it was a serious responsibility.

Riku held it up and turned his head, looking at the haircut. Kairi had been right in her description of "triangle-y" - it was jagged and rough, but somehow was so consistent in the jaggedness that Riku thought it looked...cool, even.

Sora was waiting anxiously, bouncing on his toes for Riku's reaction. "Well? Well? Well?" he'd been repeating.

Riku grinned. "I like it!" he said.

Sora's face lit up as brightly as the decorated Christmas tree still sitting in his living room. "Really? I told you it would be good!"

Riku nodded. "Yeah!"

At that moment, a loud bell sounded in the distance. It rang loudly, the signal among the islands that sunset was starting and everyone should consider heading back home. Kairi sighed. "We didn't get to do much, huh?" she asked as they headed for their boats, Christmas presents in tow.

"Sure we did," Riku replied. "I got a haircut!"

"And I gave a haircut," Sora supplied. They all said their goodbyes and piled into their boats, rowing themselves back home as they'd done for years now and would do for years to come.

The next morning, Kairi and Sora met each other at the dock as they tied up their boats.

"Where's Riku?" Sora asked. Kairi lived next to Riku, and generally knew what was going on with his family.

Kairi sighed. "His mommy didn't like his haircut," she admitted sadly, sitting on the dock.

Sora stared in shock. "What?"

"She didn't like the triangles, I think. She was mad and I think she took him to a real barber this morning to get it cut."

"She didn't like it?" Sora repeated, tears welling up in his eyes as he sat down next to Kairi and hung his head.

Kairi put her hand on her forlorn friend's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Riku liked it lots, though!" she insisted. "He was saying he didn't want to get it cut!"

Sora looked up at her sadly. "Really?"

"Really!"

"So where is he now? Is he back yet?"

Kairi shook her head. "He wasn't when I left, but he could be back soon." Kairi leaned back and looked at the sunny sky. "Isn't it weird how sunny it is in winter?" she asked.

Sora leaned back too, his eyes still watery. "No..."

"Sure it is! In stories winter is always cold and snowy! It isn't, here, though."

"I guess." He thought for a moment and turned to her. "Hey, Kairi, have you ever seen snow?"

"I don't remember," Kairi replied. "I know what it looks like. So maybe! I don't remember it, though." She looked thoughtfully out at the horizon. "Oh! Riku!" she said, standing suddenly and waving. Sora scrambled to his feet and waved also, wondering what Riku's hair would look like now.

As Riku's boat reached the dock, Sora and Kairi grew solemn. Riku's hair had been cut short. Not as short as, say, Tidus' hair, but shorter than it had been before. It was just above his shoulders, with the normal, natural cut of a professional rather than Sora's sloppy trim. Riku had always preferred longer hair, and with his new cut he did not look happy. He was scowling for all he was worth as he pulled up to the dock, and Sora and Kairi rushed to help him tie up his boat as he stood to climb out. In his frustration, he forgot to pay attention to his balance, and ended up tipping the boat far enough sideways that he fell into the water.

As he sat up in the small tide, now drenched and looking ready to hit something, Sora and Kairi hurried off the dock.

Sora looked at the ground. "Um...Riku..." he said, his tone apologetic.

Riku glared at him. "What?"

His friend's tone sent the young boy to take a step back, his hands behind his back. "I...I'm sorry that your mommy didn't like your haircut..." he whimpered.

There was a pause, and when Riku spoke again, his tone was less angry. "You didn't do anything bad." Sora heard splashing and looked up to see that Riku had stood up and, his shorter hair now plastered to the sides of his face, walked over to Sora. "It's not your fault you're a bad barber," he said, grinning challengingly.

"Hey!" complained Sora as Riku took off running and laughing. Sora took off after him. "Take that back!" he shouted.

"No!"

"Take it back!"

"No!"

Sora scoffed, leaning back on the couch. "I don't know what you're complaining about anyway, Riku," he insisted. "_You _liked the haircut."

"_I _was nine," Riku laughed. "I liked a lot of things that no one in their right mind would like now."

"Like long, pretty hair?" Sora taunted, reaching over and flipping his friend's hair. "Oh, it even shines in the light! You must tell me your secrets, Princess Riku!"

Riku raised an eyebrow, smiling wickedly. "Someone sounds jealous."

"What? No! Agh! I am not!"

"Oh, yes you are."

"I am not!" Sora repeated, making a second dive with pillows. Again, Riku saw his attack coming and grabbed for the shorter brunette. Pulling him into a tight headlock, Riku laughed.

"Say I'm right! You're jealous!" Riku insisted as Sora struggled against the grip.

"Never!"  
"Say it!"

"No!"

"Say it!"

"I won't!"

Riku laughed as Sora finally escaped. "We don't act any differently now, do we?"

Sora flopped onto the couch. "...no...I guess we don't," he said with a smile. "But that's okay."

Riku turned his head. "Why?"

"Because I had a lot of fun then, too."

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**A/N: **Reviews appreciated! Zexion/Demyx fanfics encouraged (albeit irrelevant)!


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